Pokémon: Three Rivals
by Renee Index
Summary: The story of Red, living in a world of monsters, where one wrong move could easily be your last. What adventures and hardships will he and his rivals, Blue and Green, have to face, just to survive? As terrifying as they are wondrous, Pokémon rule this world, and it will take a lot of blood sweat and tears to make it to the top. Rated M for violence/death


_Hello all, This is my first time writing a Pokemon fanfiction and I am excited to share with you my version of the story of Red, Blue and Green. I do hope you review, even if it is constructive criticism. Enjoy the first chapter ^^ -Renee Index_

 **Disclaimer- I do not own the rights to Pokemon or any of its affiliations including but not limited to, Gamefreak, The Pokemon Company, or 4kids entertainment. This fanfiction is a work of fiction and is based upon the characters created by these companies. Please support the offical release.**

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 **Chapter 1 - Sleepless Nights**

My eyes snap open, bed sheets covered in a haze of sweat. My breaths coming in small gasps, my ears ringing with the sound of sirens that are ever present in my dreams. Finally realizing that it was another nightmare, I sigh into my hands. "Son of a bitch..." I quietly curse to no one, as my feet slide out of bed. I stand and make my way to the door on the other side of my small room. Kicking the litter of clothes and cheap food wrappers out of the way with my feet, I stumble to the bathroom.

My right hand automatically shifts up, flipping the small switch. The room becomes a blinding mass of white tiles to my light sensitive eyes. I cover my eyes quickly, and shuffle forward to the small sink situated on the far wall of the tiny bathroom. Turning the faucet, cold water splashes into the basin. I scoop up a cupped handful and begin to cleanse my face of the terrors that my night time slumber brought to me. I stare at myself in the small mirror, large bags hang under my ruby eyes like they have for several years. I scan the contours of my face for the hundredth time, searching for the scars I knew to be there. A thin white scar running from above my left eyebrow, fading into the hairline of my coal black locks. Another running from my chin to a few inches before my right ear.

A racket in the other room snaps me out of my contemplation. Peeking into my bedroom, I see it is my alarm clock, flashing with the time. 5:30 AM. "Damn it. I didn't know it was that late, feel like I haven't slept a wink. That is just great, better get ready." I whined, slipping back into the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.

After my shower and taking the time to dress in my normal attire of blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and my classic red and white jacket, I slowly walked down the small set of stairs to the last room of my living quarters. A table and a single chair set off to the side, opposite a counter with a stove top installed. A refrigerator sits along the wall where the counter ends. In the center of the counter sits a small sink with a small window above it. The sky is still dark, with the soft blue glow of an approaching dawn. In the sink, sits a few pastic dishes, left over from the night before. Grumbling, but now much more alert, I opened the fridge to grab some pidgey eggs to cook quickly. Frying them, I sat down at the small table to swiftly eat. After finishing the plate, I sling the offending dish into the sink, the plastic clanging softly.

Walking back up the stairs to my bedroom, and close in on my desk. I grab my small bag and sling it around my shoulders. The straps of the bag slide into the normal position, well worn to fit perfectly. I grab the folding knife that slips just as easily into the pocket of my blue jeans, its clip having worn the denim white. I reach to the wall behind the desk and pick up the weathered hat that hangs on the hook, and slip it onto my head. Beside the hook that often holds my hat, a belt hangs on another. The belt is worn as well, but not by my hand. The magnetic strips that sit at the front of the belt show through the slightly worn fabric. With one last glance to the belt, I turn and begin to head down the stairs. Looking at the clock hanging by the door, and confirming that it is still five minutes till six-thirty, I open the door and begin my trek to the large building in the distance.

I lock the door behind me, and begin to walk, the quiet streets covered an a thin fog. I breath in the cool, crisp morning air and look around the sleepy village of Pallet. There is rarely a soul up this early, with the exception of those that work at the esteemed Pallet Town Pokemon Lab. It's leader, a master of Pokemon and a legend even among the highest echelons of Pokemon research, expects those that work for him to be up early to seize the day. Professor Samual Oak, or as most people simply know him, the Pokemon Professor. I always thought that title was a bit pretentious, but the man has shown how much he ha has earned it time and time again. He was always something of a legend even before turning to the study of Pokemon. An amazing trainer, able to command the respect of even the most destructive and stubborn of beast. There are even tales of him starring down a mythical dragonite and it backing down from his glare. That story, from experiencing his glares first hand, is one most definitely steeped in the truth.

"Aye, yo Red!" A voice snaps my out of my musings, and I turn to see a light haired boy running towards me through the fog. "Great, I was hoping this morning would be a quiet walk to work..." I sigh and turn to continue walking toward the lab. "Oh come on, don't be like that buddy! Grandpa is running a little late today anyway, so you don't have to worry about being late, man!" He retorts, chuckling and sliding easily to my side, pace matching mine. "You know as well as I do, it's not about being late. I have a lot of things to get done today. That Azurill has been sick for two days, and I need to get there so I can check on her and make sure the others are doing okay as well. You need to take something serious once in a while, Blue." I snap back, knowing my worry is etched on my face.

Blue has been my childhood friend since we met when I was twelve, after his grandfather, Professor Oak, took me in. It was a tentative friendship at first but the guy is just so stubborn, he will always get what he wants in the end. I swear, if he wanted to be the gym leader of Pallet Town, he would find a way. Run a gym in the back rooms of the lab if he had to. As we grew up, and I began to connect with Pokemon again, our mutual love for Pokemon battling drew us closer together, becoming inseparable. Our rivalry only drove us to be better friends and grow together. He always said that he had the technical skill and I had the instincts of a master, together we would be unstoppable. Of course, this was all before we both met Green. After she was introduced into our group, our rivalry grew by leaps and bounds. I guess all it really takes to make males turn into wild animals, is to add a girl into the mix.

"Red, You even listening to me?" Blue said with a scowl set on his face. "Does it look like I was? You start talking and I just kind of zone out. Natural reaction to white noise, I guess." I ribbed back, a smirk plain on my face. "Ha ha ha funny guy, jeez you sure are in a foul mood this morning. Are you really worried about that stupid blue puff ball that much? I mean sure, that is the only attention you get from a girl of any species, but come on Red." He snipped back, laughing at his own joke. "alright, first off, I am worried about Azurill a lot, she doesn't seem to be getting any better. Second, I'll have you know, Green was very interested in talking about the baby Pokemon yesterday." I say back, trying to not sound defensive. "Yeah because any girl goes wide eyed at a baby anything!" he retorts with a showy flourish of his hands.

"Do they now?" A feminine voice cuts into the conversation as we approach the lab from the side. "Shit! you know what I mean, like, girls like the small cute Pokemon, ya know but not, like all girls, just like... most of them?" Blue stumbles out an excuse to the now visible Green sitting on a bench by the front doors of the lab. "Oh so if I don't like the cute fluffy Pokemon like most girls then I'm weird?" She responds easily, catching Blue off guard. "No! You're not weird just, you know like just, different?" He says, tripping over his own words like an idiot. I decide to keep quiet and to enjoy these just desserts. "Oh, it makes me different that I don't go all gaga over babies, like a woman should!?" She snaps back without missing a beat. I see the smile ghosting over her face, disappointment fills me as I realize she can't keep it together much longer. "That's not what I meant, I just meant that most girls like babies and stuff, but it is totally okay if you don't, you are your own woman and you shouldn't be forced to think about having a family or anything!" Blue finally stammers out, making a coherent thought finally.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Green can't hold it back anymore, and finally breaks out in laughter. Despite the torment finally ending, I begin to chuckle as well. Blue looks at me and back to Green. "You guys are assholes." he huffs, clearly unhappy with being the butt of the joke for this round. "Hey man, You are the one that went and said something sexist in front of one of the most independent girls Pallet has ever known." I retort, still chuckling. "Good morning Red, it is pleasant to see you in good spirits today. I worried about how you would be feeling with your Azurill being sick and all." Green says, a smile on her face. My heart finally starts to beat again, after missing several beats. "Yeah, luckily I got to hear you tear into Blue and make my morning. Good morning to you, Green. Is Max inside, or are the doors still locked?" I ask, the worry for the young Pokemon finally getting to me. "Yeah, dad is inside. Don't know where the professor is though, not like him to run late." Green replies, with a quizzical look on her face. I step towards the doors of the lab and they slide open for me. "Oh, grandpa is returning from Viridian right now, something about a package needing to be delivered to the lab or some-" Blue's voice is cut off by the sliding doors shutting.

I walk into the expansive lab, bookshelf everywhere with hundreds of science journals on each shelf. I quickly walk to the computer on the left side of the entrance, and swipe my small badge. "Ding~! Red Tordes, You have been clocked in. Please report to the daycare for assignment." The mechanical voice says. I stroll through the hallway on the left side of the building, following it till I find the last room on the right. Sliding my card, the door opens to a large brightly lit room. The flooring is replaced by a soft bed of grass. The only piece of technology is the small computer in the corner, with a glass case beside it. flipping the computer on, I initialize the retrieval process. The glass case glows slightly and a round of 5 pokeballs appear. Enlarging the pokeballs one by one, I release their contents on the floor of the daycare.

The first Pokemon to greet me is a small yellow mouse, short with large ears tipped in black. As he is released, he scurries up my pant leg and rest on my shoulder, cuddling into my cheek with a small "chu!" I chuckle, and give him a soft scratch behind the ears, feeling the sharp build up of static course over my hand. "Good Morning buddy, how are you feeling today? Seems you are in pretty high spirits." I say to the yellow puff ball sitting on my shoulder. "Chu!" He responds in a happy manner as he runs back and forth from one shoulder to the next. "Alright, ready to bring everyone else out for the day?" I ask with a smile, as it nods his head with a smile of his own. His small black tail twitches, along with his ears as I release the rest of my charges for the day.

The next Pokemon to be released is a small plant, his arms clasp above his head and a content smile on his face. His small hands are tipped with a mint green, a lighter shade than the forest green that covers the rest of his body. "Good Morning Budew, how are you feeling today?" I ask with enthusiasm. Professor Oak often told me that raising the younger Pokemon required a special touch, that they needed to feel cared for, even if they can;t understand all of what you say. "Budew!" He says while bounces around excitedly. "That's good buddy, make sure you take it easy today, yesterday you didn't get to much time under the sun lamp so we should try to get you a bit of extra time today." I say as he waddles off to the corner where the sun laps will be put in later.

"Alright, next is the troublemaker..." I sigh with exasperation evident in my voice. I toss out the third Pokeball, and a small golden bell materializes. She rings out and bounces around with eager anticipation, ready to play. Her small red and white tassles flow behind her. "Good morning Chingling. I hope you know to behave today with Azurill being sick. If i find you picking on other Pokemon one more time, I am going to be talking to the professor about a stint in deep storage. I know how much you hate going a while without being released." I say with a stern voice, knowing she won't listen otherwise. She rings out with a slightly sad chime, but hops up easily to my hands and rings happily to me. I smile and put her down, as she starts to simply hop around the large room, clanging happily.

"Alright, lets get Happiny out and the we will take care of Azurill." I say to the small rodent resting on my shoulder. "Chu." He responds with affirmation. I toss the fourth Pokeball out and a small pink Pokemon materializes. "Haaaaapinny!" The small pink egg shaped Pokemon cries out as she sits down, arms high. "Oh, come on Happiny, I can't carry you all day." I say, trying to hold myself back from folding to this cute little Pokemon. "Happiny..." She cries sadly, standing back up and walking towards me. "You know that I need to take care of Azurill today, girl... Make you a deal, you play with Chingling today and when Azurill is feeling better, I will carry you all day, okay?" At this, she smiles and bounces with happiness. She teeters off to play with Chingling, happy as a clampearl.

"Whew, didn't think she would fold that easy, best not to look a gift ponyta in the mouth. Alright let's check on Azurill and get the meds ready for her." I tell myself as I toss the last Pokeball. A small blue mouse like Pokemon appears in a flash of white light. "Azurill..." She cries softly, still seemingly under the weather. I walk over to her and pick her up softly. "Hey there Azurill, how are you feeling today? You look a little better than yesterday." I say to her quietly, and she smiles back at me. "Azurill." she replies, giving just a fraction of her usual energy, but much more than she has had in the last days. "That's great to hear Azurill. I know how much you hate it but lets get you your medicine and then we can relax for the day, how does that sound?" I ask her as I carry her over to the desk. "Azurill." She replies, a soft nod of her head following.

"I hope the professor is in finally, lets try and give him a ring." I say to the small baby Pokemon in my hand. I bring up the comm app on the computer and input the professor's extension. The line rings for a second before Professor Oak's face appears on the monitor. "Hello Red! Good morning to you, and good morning Azurill, Pichu." He greets us in his happy demeanor. "Good morning professor, glad to see you are in good spirits this morning, despite being late." I gently rib him, knowing how much he despises being tardy. "Oh, yes. It has been a very troublesome day so far indeed. So much work to be done, and yet there is never enough time to truly give it the attention it deserves, much like the young Azurill there. How is she doing today?"

"Well professor, She seems to be better than she has been in the last few days, a bit more energetic than before. Still seems that she needs a bit more treatment before anything, though." I reply, showing the small blue mouse to the professor to look closer. "I think you are right, my boy. She does seem to be getting better, but better on side of caution as always. I will send the medication right now, and make sure that-" "That she eats some berries before she takes the medicine, yes I know professor." I interrupt with a sigh. "Red, you know better than to interrupt me. It is a very unprofessional habit that you need to break. Yes you are right, but make sure that she sticks to pecha berries for the day. It will help to flush the illness from her body as well." He lectures, knowing that I have the bad habit of finishing sentences for him when he has repeated himself.

"Of course, professor and I apologize. I shouldn't cut you off like that. I'm running a bit low on Pecha berries down here, can you send some down as well?" I ask politely, trying to not get on his bad side. "Of course, my boy. Although i thought you got your berries stocked up last week." he asked curiously. "Oh, that. Chingling decided to pig out on the pechas when I had my back turned. She is such a troublemaker. Have to threaten her with the lock up on the daily now." I sigh exasperatingly. "Well that makes sense, she is about at that age now. as chinglings get older, they tend to act out quite a bit. They become quite mischievous before they evolve, so our young Chingling is getting close to evolution if I'm not mistaken. She will calm down after evolving, and she will be sent to the ranch afterwards." He explains.

"Oh, I see. I didn't know that about chingling life cycles. That makes a bit more sense now. No wonder she has been acting out. Why will she be moved to the ranch though?" I ask thoughtfully. "Oh well that is simple. The daycare that you operate for me is only for the baby Pokemon that I have. Once they evolve into an adult, they are sent to the ranch where they become a bit more self sufficient, not needing the one on one care like the young ones do. I understand the confusion since you've only been working as the caretaker of the daycare for about a year and a half. Didn't have the need for one before since we had no baby Pokemon in the facility till then."

"Then what about Pichu, They came to the lab at about the same time, right?" I ask while looking at the sleeping yellow bundle on my shoulder. "Well about that, do you notice the faint darkening on its back? This event shows that the pichu has begun to get the dark brown lines across its back, that pikachu is known for. It is a sure sign that the pichu will evolve soon." I glance to the sleeping pichu on my shoulder and notice the small dark lines forming on its back. A happy excitement flourishes through me as I think about Pichu finally evolving. As soon as the excitement appears though, dread beats it down in an instant. "Wait, does that mean this little guy will be sent to the ranch soon as well?" I ask nervously of the answer that is sure to come. "Why, of course! we want to be able to introduce the Pokemon back into the wild at some point, so it is imperative that they become able to forage for food and survive without much human involvement." Oak says, not noticing my pained expression.

"I see. Thank you for the information professor. I should really get to taking care of the young ones." I respond without much enthusiasm. "Alright Red, I will send the medicine and the berries right now." Professor Oak says and the screen flicks off. The glass case by the computer lights up again, startling Azurill. I reach in the case, taking out the syringe and the berries. At the sight of the syringe, Azurill begins to wail loudly, struggling to be released from my hold. "Come on, girl. You know i don't like doing it but you need the medicine to get better." I say softly as I hold up a berry for her to eat. She sniffles and takes a small bite out of the berry. "There you go. It wont be bad, I promise." The wail catches the attention of my other charges and they all start to walk towards me to investigate.

After the group is happily munching on the berries, I pick up Azurill. She trembles in my hand, knowing what is to come. I softly tell her it will be okay, and inject her with the medicine. She cries softly but once it is done, she looks up at me and sniffles. I give her a small scratch on the head, and let her down. Knowing that it is done, She perks up and begins to play with the others. With the lull of nothing needing to be immediately down, I bring out the small sun lamp that is in the drawers of the desk, and set it up in the corner for Budew. He waddles on over and sits down, enjoying the warmth of the lamp.

Several hours pass, as the day is spent taking care of the little ones. The end of the day is coming, so I call all of the Pokemon over to me. "Alright guys, it's time to sleep. You all know the drill. Line up and ill give you guys a berry and return you." They line up quickly, with the exception of the playful chingling. She hops around the room still, ringing loudly. "Chingling, do I have to return you without your last berry?" I say sternly. "Ling!" she rings back twirling in the air mid hop. She continues to bounce around the room, chiming happily. "Alright fine, you don't get a berry tonight. If you aren't lined up by the time I finish with these guys, you aren't going to like what happens." I say with resignation.

After feeding them their last berry and returning them to their balls, Chingling is still bouncing around with glee. "You know, I really don't know what has gotten into you today. Professor said you would act out but now I have to get that sun lamp fix for tomorrow. You really are a pain in my-" My thoughts are interrupted by a bright white light filling the room. I shield my eyes for a second. Where Chingling stood, is now a small Pokemon with a white body, red accents covering it, along with the long tail. A golden suction cup grows out of the top of its head. "Chimecho!" It sings happily. "Well... I didn't really expect you to evolve now but I guess that works." I laugh out loud. Giving the young Chimecho a scratch on her head, I go ahead and ring up the professor on the computer again.

The screen blazes to life with the professor buried nose deep in paper work. "Yes, what is it?" The professor say curtly. Taken slightly aback by his unusually impersonal behavior, I decide to have a small amount of fun. "Oh, ya know professor, just wanted to call, check on how the work is coming along. Chimecho wanted to see as well." I say with feigned curiosity. "It is coming along just as it always has, nonstop! There is so much paperwork for one simple package I think I might drown in it all." The weathered Oak says, much to my amusement. "Chimecho!" My small companion sings, trying to get the professors attention. "Yes, yes, yes, hello Chimecho. it is nice to see you again. If there is nothing to report on Red, I am very busy!" The professor retorts, and the screen goes black.

I smirk widely, chucking to Chimecho. "Don't worry, just give him a few seconds. should be in just about-" The screen blazes to life once again. "Red! Chingling evolved!" The Professor practically shouts at the screen, eyes wide. I go from chuckling to full side-splitting laughter in a matter of seconds. I laugh until I cry and face the professor again. "Sorry professor, I just couldn't help it. you seemed so busy so I thought I'd see how long it took you to catch up." I chortled out, still barely containing my mirth. "This is great! Bring our newly evolved friend here and we will do an examination to determine if she is fit and when she will be moved to the Ranch." The professor requests. "Sure, I'll be there in just a second."

After bringing the newly evolved Chimecho to the professor, He decided to let me go for the night, saying that the exam would take a bit longer since the little troublemaker wanted to make it difficult for him. Now he would know what I've been through for the past few weeks. On my way out of the lab, I stop to say hello to Max, Professor Oak's number one assistant "Hey Max, burning the midnight oil as always I see." I say as I swipe my card to punch out. He shuffles over a few feet, grabbing another journal off the shelf, and turns his head to me. "Hey Red. Yeah, Oak has me doing a little last minute research on the Chimecho line. Wanted to get a proper exam done for our new member of the ranch." He responds with a kind smile.

Max was always the kindest of the assistance to Professor Oak. He would help out in the daycare when he could, and always gave really good advice for getting them to play nice with each other. Could have been that he really loves Pokemon, something so genuine never seems to stay around long when it comes to Pokemon. Even myself, with my love of battle, once couldn't even stand to be around them. Due to what happened with my mother, I was scared of what they really could do. Most people treat Pokemon as pets but the truth is, Pokemon are truly creatures with the powers of monsters. Sure, it's isnt truly their fault, they do what their nature says for them to do, but that doesn't mean that they aren't terrifyingly deadly.

"So Red, you out of here?" Max asks with his hands full of material and journals. "Yeah, I'm heading home right now." I respond as I slip my badge back into my pocket. "Well can you do me a favor? Can you tell Celeste that I will be home a bit late?" He asks with a pleading look in his eyes. I sigh, can't he tell I can barely talk to his daughter without becoming tongue tied? "Yeah Max, of course. She at home?" He sighs in relief, smiling. "Yeah, she is at home waiting for me to come home." He says as he starts to walk towards the main office. "Tell her I will be home in about an hour!" He shouts to me behind his back. "Gotcha Max! See you tomorrow!" I yell back as i walk through the sliding doors into the night air.

The walk is quiet and uneventful, though Green's house on the other side of the village from my own. I walk to the front door and knock loudly. The door swings open quickly, Green standing in the doorway with a frown on her face. "Hey there, Green. Max wanted me to stop by and let you know that he won't be home for another hour." I tell her, quickly working out that she wasn't to happy with it. "Of course, he won't be home till midnight. Again! I swear he finds any excuse to not come home on time anymore. I might as well be an orphan!" She says angrily, but instantly regrets her words and covers her mouth. "Oh, I am so sorry Red, that was very insensitive." She says apologetically. "Hey, it's no big deal. I know what you meant and it's okay." I reply, not letting it get to me.

"Well, he asked me to stop by and give his darling daughter, Celeste, the message." I tease, knowing that using her real name always riles her up. "Do not call me Celeste, Tordes! You know I hate using my real name since we made our pact. I am Green, rival to the great Blue and Red!" She says with a tough bravado. I laugh heartily "Yeah, Celeste, Satoshi and Gary just doesn't have the same ring to it as Red, Blue and Green." I say, recalling the pact.

When we were younger, me and Blue always played alone, often just sitting and talking about Pokemon. We would watch the Competitive Pokemon Battling channel almost every day, discuss strategy and what makes a good team. After Max got the job as the professor's assistant, He and his daughter moved into Pallet town. We found Green sitting under our usual tree, reading a book about Pokemon, and we struck up a conversation. She was dry and boring, spouting off fact after fact about different Pokemon. We eventually got tired of listening and said we were going to watch CPB. She asked to join us, not having any friends. We said sure and that's how we ended up corrupting Princess Bookworm. We watched the battles well into the night, she staring star struck at the challenges. She would rattle off facts about every Pokemon that would show up and we would, in turn, explain the strategy of using certain Pokemon. She fell in love that night. After a few months of doing nothing but watching the battles, she decided she was going to be the Pokemon champion. Blue laughed and said "Yeah right, You will have to beat me to get that title, and that isn't ever going to happen!" Needless to say, they fought hard over the subject till I told them I was going to be the champion so they didn't need to fight. We made a pact that day, that we would always be each others rivals. Blue suggested "cool code names" and thus, Red, Blue and Green were born. Bitter rivals and the best of friends.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Champion Green sounds so much better." She laughed out. "Yeah right, it's going to be Champion Red in those news reels, remember that!" I boasted and she laughed right along with me. We may be serious about being the best, but it does make us really good friends too. "Well Green, I'm going to go ahead and head on home. I hope your dad doesn't get to much wrath coming his way for tonight." I jokingly say as I wave good night to Green. "Oh, he will get an earful but it shouldn't be too bad. Good night Red." She replies with small smile on her face. She waves back and closes the door.

Relatively close to Green's house, is the Pokemon ranch owned by the Pallet Labs. It is a sprawling fenced-in area, large enough to take up a fourth of the town's total size. The ranch is separated into a few different areas, to better suit the specific needs of different Pokemon. I stop by and gaze at the Pokemon that are visable. A small herd of ponyta graze in the soft meadows, with a group of growlithe curled up close by their mother, a powerful arcanine. A few metapod glisten in the moonlight on the outer edges of the copse of tree that signal the beginning of the forest zone of the ranch. The rocky outcropping stands in the distance, geodude and sandshrew surely sleeping within the recesses. The nocturnal Pokemon can be seen once in a while, a few hoothoot hoping in the trees, or an oddish or two waddling through the tall grass.

A simple fear grips me, as I stare into the forest. I know somewhere in that small forested area, lives a small hive of beedrill. One of the most dangerous Pokemon to run into while in the forest. More lives have been lost to them than almost any other Pokemon in the Kanto region, simply because of how populace they are, and how fiercely they protect their hives. Knowing deep down, that some day, that small pichu I have grown so attached to, will be living in that forest terrifies me. I shudder at the thought and stare out across the vast ranch to the sleeping monsters that it contains. They are truly beautiful, but deadly. I wonder how humans could have survived as long as we have.

The ranch is pretty heavily guarded though, with patrols within the ranch by rangers hired by Pallet Labs. I have always thought highly of the rangers. They are a military power, but they work around the clock to try and make the wilds safe for most people. It is a relatively thankless job, but they save lives. I see one of the many rangers walking up to the fence, obviously looking for suspicious behavior.

"Hello over there." She says in a stern voice. "Hello Vivian, it's just Red." I say with a chuckle, waving to the woman in uniform. "Oh, Red don't scare me like that! Thought someone was getting the smart idea of trying to catch some Pokemon in the ranch." She says with an exasperated sigh. "Oh don't worry, I don't think anyone in town is that stupid anymore. People learned their lesson the first time." I reply with a smile. "Yeah that was a bitch, trying to get all the Pokemon on the ranch to calm down. The dude is lucky he didn't lose a leg or something." She retorts back with a smile as well.

Vivian has been working for the lab for about two years, and has been someone I love to talk to when I can. She grew up in Fuchsia but joined the rangers at sixteen. After a year of being a ranger, she got assigned to the Pallet Labs. Having someone close to my age, that I can talk to without it devolving into a screaming match about who will be the best trainer is something I have come to treasure. Green and I don't do that, but I can't really talk to her long without her going on and on about the latest Pokemon strategy. Vivian has been there, out in the wilds, and she is a fountain of information. She has taught me more in our long talks than any survival guide could ever hope to teach me.

"Yeah, I am relatively surprised he didn't get hurt, that ninetails is a nasty piece of work when it comes to her kits." I respond with ease. "You are telling me, she was so hard to deal with when they were growing up, talk about a moody mom." Vivian joked, bring a chuckle out of me as well. "So what's going on tonight?" I ask with avid curiosity. "Oh not much, the mankey group got into a fight with the graveler on the outcrop, had to break that up. Newbie got to close to the ponyta herd and the rapidash stallion almost skewered him, so that's more paperwork." She explained as I listened carefully. "How did you handle the mankey and graveler situation? Mankey can be a bit of a handful and can really put someone in the hospital, but graveler can crush a human pretty quickly." I asked, ready to file away the information under the "Could save my life one day" folder.

"Well mankey don't mind a bit of water, so to really break up the fight we had, we used our poliwhirl to give them a nice push out of the way, while that sent the big brutes running. Water doesn't react well with most rock Pokemon, it softens them up. They get to wet and their own weight could tear 'em apart." She explains, my eyes alight with fascination. "Okay, that makes sense. So because they have a natural aversion to water, it can be used as a deterrent?" I ask, looking for clarification. "Well yeah, normally, get one riled up enough and they might power on through, but most of the time. Now as much as I'd love to sit around and explain more, I am on duty and I need to do my rounds. Have a good night Red." She waves, and begins her walk around the ranch again. I wave goodbye and turn to leave.

I start to head to my house again, glancing around the peaceful town. The only lights visible so late at night are the odd house, and the torches stationed on the small stone walls surrounding the village. The night watch is out on patrol right now, a few here and there, though not a large number for the small village. I wave to the guard stationed near the wall close to my house, and he waves back. In a small town like this, you know everyone. The town of Pallet has about one hundred people living within its walls. since the attack four years ago, a great deal of people have moved away to the confines of much safer cities, such as Celadon. Pokemon attacks on towns and cities are far from common place, but you never really know when things will turn bad. Around here it isn't too bad, the most terrifying things we have to fear are the Pokemon from the Forest to the north, and Pokemon from the sea to the south.

My mind shifts back to the tragedy four years ago, and how much it has changed this sleepy village. The walls used to be wooden, simple enough to keep the smaller Pokemon at bay. Only after that event, did the need become apparent for such sturdier walls. Many of the guards stationed at the walls carry bird Pokemon, compared to the common Rattata used years before. The need for which came from the amount of bug and grass types that live in the forest. Even though a small selection of Fire types would make short work of the denizens of the forest beyond the walls, such Pokemon are hard to find and even harder to control. Only our esteemed Pokemon Professor has the ability to train and use the notoriously temperamental typing, much like the elements that they control. Even the use of a series of sirens were implemented to raise the awareness during times of distress. The town's militia were also heavily trained to react to the sirens with increased speed and precision.

I am shocked out of my thoughts as I realize I am home already. I unlock the door and step inside. I walk to the fridge to gather up what I need and walk to the stove to cook my dinner, and eat it quietly. I sigh and walk up the steps, taking off my hat and jacket to hang up for the next day. I slink into the bathroom to wash the grime from the day, and get dressed for bed. I slowly crawl into bed, and slip into a fitful sleep.

My eyes snap open, my breathing coming in small gasps. I hear the sirens going off and realize that I am not dreaming. The blaring isn't in my head. I hear screams.

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope to hear from you all. Look forward to reading more soon. Till next time -Renee Index_


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